Incarcerated women at the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women (NCCW) received a lesson in understanding the importance of hopefulness on Aug. 24.
Julia Cook, of Fremont, Neb., shared her message to a group of about 100 ladies. She said hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible.
“Hope is like oxygen; it is essential to life," Cook said. “It’s a choice to be hopeful or hopeless."
Cook shared her view of ‘a glass half full’ in that it is refillable. “Your future is spotless,” she said. “When the world gives up on you, hope says try it one more time.”
Cook ensured listeners that there are endless opportunities for us to change and be the person we want to see ourselves as.
She read aloud an excerpt of her book, “What Do I Say About That,” which was written for children with incarcerated parents. The women were so touched by Cook's words, connection and inspiration that they gave her a standing ovation at the end of her presentation.